Separation Software

[Bielefeld]

Is there a list available anywhere, where the softwares stand on, which can separate RGB into CMYK? Or has anybody advice which software can do it a lot better than Photoshop CS? I need to convert CameraRAW-Data into printable CMYK Files.
Thanks in advance.

B.

[Chip Hildreth]

Without knowing your exact application I'll just pass what I know.

I typically use Phase One's Capture One DSLR to batch convert my RAW (Nikon) files to RGB TIFFs, then I do cropping and whatever in Photoshop (PS7). I leave them in RGB format no matter how intend to print because if I print to an inkjet or color laser I let the print driver do the conversion (My understanding is that most print drivers will actually convert a CMYK file to RGB and then back to CMYK). If I'm going to offset press the file typically goes into QuarkXpress or InDesign and is then converted to CMYK with the rest of the layout. The one exception is when I'm furnishing a stock photo to someone who has bought just the photo and no design services. In that case I give them RGB TIFF and CMYK EPS versions; I do the CMYK conversion in PS7.

With that said, I know Capture One and BreezeBrowser (Breeze Systems) will output CameraRAW files of several types to TIFF with any color space available on your computer. If you select a CMYK color space, they will convert the file to CMYK mode separated into the four CMYK channels.

I think pretty much any RIP software will do a CMYK separation from a typical RGB format but I'm not so sure about from CameraRAW. If you want to go direct from RAW to CMYK you're limited to software that handles your particular camera's RAW file format.